The Angling Trades Association has just completed National Fishing Week Festival, sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Environment Agency. It is delighted to report that 2005 has been the biggest and best ever.

National Fishing Week 2005 has taken twelve months to deliver and a big thank you must go to those who have helped make the event a great success. There has been a 3-fold increase in the number of events from last year, with double the amount of local organisers.

National Fishing Week set out last September with some simple but clear objectives:

• Increase the number of people who fish
• Deliver more events across all 3 disciplines of the sport
• Maximise the number of events in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales
• Promote angling in a positive light to the non- angling sector of Great Britain
• Embrace all sectors of society

The indications are that these objectives have not only been achieved, but also surpassed in many instances.

National Fishing Week had previously been perceived as an event, just to promote coarse fishing events. With the support of the Game and Sea Fishing Associations, it is encouraging to report that game fishing represented 12%, and sea fishing 5% of all events held in 2005. Whilst these figures may not reflect the national average, they do however show a significant increase on last year, and are a positive platform to build on, in years to come. The final total of events across the nation this year has exceeded 300 for the first ever time. Whilst England was still the main contributor in event numbers, it must be highlighted that, Ireland tripled their events, Scotland quadrupled and Wales staged 23 events more than the previous year.

As a result of the dedication to angling, through the organisers, licensed coaches, volunteers and first time participants, National Fishing Week 2005 has managed to introduce thousands more people to the delights of the sport.

National Fishing Week received a great boost from the nation’s media with coverage being achieved throughout the 10-day festival. BBC TV, radio, regional and national newspapers reported many positive angling stories and iniatives. These features included interviews from well-known celebrities, industry spokespersons, and local organisers. Celebrities such as: Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock the ex England International, Mick Duxbury ex Manchester Utd football player, Rod Harrington the ex World Darts Champion and Colin Lloyd the current PDC world No1 darts player, all added their weight and support to National Fishing Week 2005 events.

We will be launching National Fishing Week 2006 in the not too distant future, so keep on the look out in the Angling press for the dates and details.

Please enjoy some of the pictures and stories of the events on this news page, and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.

News Provided by


Tight Lines